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Folklore, music, myths, poetry, gods, devils, prophets, prayers, virtues, religious beliefs, spiritual attributes all have certain typical numbers associated with them, all over the world. Separate cultures seem to be magnificiently interlinked and interrelated by a shared belief in the magical significance of numbers. Rogerson's book delves deep into the mystery of numbers to assemble, arrange and analyse quite a large amount of information about their mythical, symbolic, religious and iconic use across the globe.
The narrative moves on to tell that the Kitab Alf Laylah contains 1,000 stories, circle contains 360 degrees, the Koran having 114 sura, Lord Krishna having 108 names and Ahura Mazda 101. We move forward to note that 72 Shia martyrs were killed in Karbala, there are 70 names of Jerusalem, 64 arts of love in Kamasutra, 52 Shakti Pithas in Hindu culture and the Mayan culture has a 52-year cycle. A Muslim observes fast for 30 days of the month of Ramadan. There are 24 Tirathankars of Jains and 24 letters in Greek alphabet. The mystery of a 21- gun salute and the unlucky 13 has been unravelled. Twelve signs of the Zodiac, 12 disciples at the Last Supper, 12 Olympian gods, 12 women of the Prophet, 12 labours of Hercules, 12 tribes of 12 sons of Jacob in Israel and12 Shiite Imams make for an interesting reading. As we approach the end, we come across facts on single-digit numbers. We have here 9 Rasas, 8 Angs or aspects of Yoga, 7 notes of music, 7 heavens in various cultures, 7 circuits of the Kaaba, 7 deadly sins of Christendom, 7 Colours of spectrum, 7 seas, 7 wonders of the world, 6 days of Genesis and so on, ending with various names of one God signifying the ultimate unity of mankind. Rogerson has tried to do justice to various cultures, traditions and belief systems in the world, yet there are significant ommissions so far as the oriental and Indian religions are concerned. No mention has been made about 4 Vedas, 18 Chapters or 700 verses of Bhagavadgita, 5 Prime elements, 4 Yugas, 40 Muktas, 40 Warriors of Chamkaur, 4 Sahibzadas, 5 Beloved ones of the Guru or 5 Ks of the Sikhs to name just a few. Inspite of this, it is an interesting read.
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Beginning with the big numbers, the author moves backwards to single-digit numbers pointing out their role at various positions in space and time in human history. The treatise starts with facts like 4320 million years making a single day in the life of Lord Brahma, God sending 1,24,000 prophets to this world before Prophet Muhammad. 